Monday, December 08, 2008

meanwhile in Hellas...

Andreas Grigoropolous RIPnever forget! never forgive!

while toffs play at radicalism in Britain, the insurrection continues apace in Greece, virtually every city and large town has had rioting, every university has been occupied, schools closed down , a general strike is planned for wednesday! the Communists have called a massive protest in Athens this evening. The Greek embassies in London and Berlin have been occupied.

London and Berlin

Eye witness accounts

Rioting continuing this afternoon after demonstration - 10 banks destroyed, severe rioting in Patras, old people joining in attacking the police, general strike called for Wednesday - anarchidt groups doing us fucking proud.Thousands of people continue to demonstrate from the centre of athens to the main police station in the exarthia. The anarchists supported by thousands of other people from around greece. At the moment, the police are throwing lots of tear gas at demonstrators. There is a lot of fire around the streets, in between the demonstrators and the police station.Demonstrators have been on the streets since yesterday evening, after the death of a 16-year-old boy from a police shooting.We have hear that in the demonstration, people are crying, because of the death of this child. Older people are joining in the demonstration, throwing stones at the police.Head of internal affairs in the government, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, has offered his resignation, in order to absolve himself of responsibility for the police murder. Panayotis Xinofotis, another politician, has done the same. The greek president has so far refused to accept the resignations. The head of exarthia police station is currently being interviewed with the 2 policemen who carried out the shooting.The police have now entered the university, which they are forbidden from doing, and are firing rubber bullets which are injuring demonstrators.International media are stating that the police are taking a defensive role, and is showing demonstrators vandalising shops and cars. But footage is not showing the police violence, or mentioning that a kid was killed by police yesterday. This violence was started by the police yesterday when they turned up at the square where people gather, and started swearing at the kids there. The police car left, but then came back and shot one of the kids then left straight away. One hospital refused to accept the child, who finally died on arrival in another hospital.

I have just left the demonstrations and came here… I could not be out on the streets any more, I was there all night and today since 13:00. I estimate we were about 10000 in the beggining, a lot left after the riots started though. Whole Athens is burning as we speak, luxury cars, police cars, banks, supermarkets, the police station of Exarchia, also one ministy is one fire… In Alexandras avenue nearly everything is destroyed as well as on other streets around the city centre. A lot of people are arrested it is difficult to estimate number, I was present in more than one arrests, some are saying for 50 people… I will go on with a more detailed post later, I cannot go on for long now, my eyes are burning because of the police chemicals and I think I cannot breathe normally…. I will try to post some photos later.***I knew it since early morning today. I know what happened. I also know that there were riots, angry demonstrations, attacks against police stations, banks, and/or state buildings everywhere in Athens, Thessaloniki, Serres, Komotini, Xanthi, Alexandroupoli, Giannena, Trikala, Volos, Agrinio, Patra, Sparti, Chania, Irakleio, Mytilini and elsewhere.Apart Athens the most voilent reactions were in Chania and Irakleio (both in Crete), Thessaloniki and in the cities in northern Greece (Serres, Komotini and Xanthi). In Athens there were under occupation - as a direct reaction to the murder - the National Technical University (the historic Polytechnic School, known also by the famous popular uprising against the dictatorship in November 1973), the Faculty of Law, the Economic University (ASOEE) and the Panteio University.There were attacks in many police stations/buildings and at least two of them (one in Acropolis and another one in the suburb of Neos Kosmos) have been destroyed almost completely. We had attacks in police cars, banks, state building, multinational offices, luxury cars and shops etc etc., we had barricades in the centre of Athens.Things are still going on!We had the resignations of the Interior Ministry leadership (minister and undersecretary) but the prime minister didn’t accept them (!) The Mass Media are all in the government’s line, except Radio Flash 96,1 (mainstream radio) - which talked clearly for state murder - and some independent Media, such Athens Indymedia and the Radio Station “Kokkino” (Red) and of course lots of blogspots and the left newspapers.At this time attacks etc still going and now has started a big demonstration next to the Polytechnic, outside of the National Museum, which is to go to the central police headquarters. I think it will be again a very violent and militant demonstration.Anarchists of every tendency etc are of course in the front line of everything but also all the left wing organisations (maoists, trotskyists and others) are participating, as well as university students (who during the last month had not only one time but many confronted the aggressive police in their demonstrations against the initiation of the private colleges etc in Greece), migrants (who also were the last months subject of police brutality etc), workers etc.Note also that only last week finished a hunger strike in the Greek prisons by the inmates in which about 6.000 prisoners all over the country involved. The right wing government of New Democracy and Kostas Karamanlis (since 2004 on) is not only in trouble with the assassination of the 16 year old and the students, workers and migrants mobilisations but also because it is a very corrupted government with many financial and others scandals in their disposition, involving also part of the Church, local capitalists and others.Note also that the Greek economy is one of the first of the European Union to collapse if the current crisis is going further.********See also, yesteday:“A group of Athens Medical School students yesterday held Deputy Health Minister Giorgos Constantopoulos hostage in a ministry auditorium for about half an hour after he refused to discuss reforms that would result in them working the first six months of their careers without pay.”

1 comment:

it seems, that most of the "famous leftist blogs in Britain" avoid this topic and are not able to show a quantum of solidarity with those comrades killed and attacked by the Greek police and those who a protesting (among them members of sister organizations of socialist organizations in Britain) ... a shame!